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AN 


OLIVE BRANCH. 


A WORK OF CONCILIATION. 

V— 

BY J. A. STEWART. 


The Blue and the Gray now sleep under the mold ; 

Each fought for a cause he believed to be just ; 
Each fell as a soldier, courageous and bold ; 

Awake not their slumber ! Disturb not their dust ! 


CONTENTS. 


PAGE. 

1st. Words of Sorrow, but not without 

Hope 5 

2d. History of Fourth of July Cele- 
brations in Atlanta 7 

3d. An Appeal for t he release of Mr. 

Stephens from Fort Warren 17 

4th. Letter to Mr. Stephens in 1801— 
his return to the Union ... 19 


PaG 


| 5th. Chapter of Brevities 21 

0th. Lessons for the Times, 20 

7th. The Problem of Peace and good 

Government considered 31 

8th. Imperialism— A Poem, 49 

9th. A Centennial Poem, 52 

10th. To the Reader, 57 


ATLANTA, GA : 

ATLANTA CONSTITUTION BOOK AND JOB PRINTERS. 

1375 - 




v~, „ 

V? O 




Entered, according to Act of Congress, in tlie year 1875. by 

J. A. STEWART, 

In the office of the Librarian of Congress, at Washington, D. C. 


A 2. a, 1 $ '/ 


PREFACE. 



The Centennial of 187G is the grand occasion for turuieg a Lew 
leaf and to begin afresh, with the light of experience to guide us, the 
experiment of a republican form of government. We wish to write 
on an unsullied page a second Declaration of Independence, with 
high and noble resolves to free ourselves from the passions and pre- 
judices of the past, the turbulance of faction, and sectional hate — the 
three great enemies to peace and good government, and the prolific 
source of all our woes. 

In plain words (as ministers in the pulpit warn the people of 
their sins, and plead for reconciliation,) will I endeavor to point out 
the evils which have environed us ; and to plead for the subsidence 
of passion, that we may see clearly the way, and become reconciled 
to the Union under the Constituti n. I shall look to 187G, at Philadel- 
phia, as the opportunity, not to forget the lessons of the past, but to 
renew friendships, and forgive and forget alienations. 

This work has been prompted by a long and earnest desire to 
bring about reccnciliation and reunion, under a proper understanding 
of the Constitution, and of our obligations to obey it. 

It is designed to warn against all attempts to control the centen- 
nial of ’76 for mere party purposes ; as such a course would only be 
sounding a call for the renewal of strife — the death knell of our lib- 
erties. 

It is to encourage a reunion of hearts and hands, of those once 
engaged in deadly conflict; and it has the support of a lively hope, 
that Old Liberty Hall, on the 4th of July 1876, will resound with 
the shouts of joy, as the Blue and the Gray clasp hands across the 
bloody chasm, and shed tear for tear, as the alienations of the past 
are crossing over the Lethean stream. 


THE CENTENNIAL. 


WORDS OF SADNESS FOR THE PAST, BUT NOT 
WITHOUT HOPE FOR THE FUTURE. 


Tiie words of cheer and encouragement which should 
be dearest to our hearts, and which touch the chords 
that vibrate in unison with the patriot’s hope, are those 
which promise a restoration of friendly relations be- 
tween the North and the South, and between the peo- 
ple themselves in each and every State. 

I long to hear the cheering exclamation coming up 
from hearts once estranged : No more discord, no more 
hatred, no more war ; but peace in the Union under 
the Constitution ; that we may be again a united peo- 
ple — have but one country, and one union of States ; 
that we may have home governments by the States for 
local affairs, a union of States for national purposes, 
and a national name abroad — the proud name of Amer- 
ican citizens. 

These are the words which should fill our hearts to- 
overflowing. They carry with them the promise of the 
nation’s new birth; they point to the centennial of 
1876 as the grand opportunity for brave men and true 
to forgive and forget ; a grand opportunity to rally 
around the stars and stripes, whilst the Johnsons and 
the Lamars, of the South, meet the veterans of the 
union army, North, with mutual pledges for the future, 
giving us once more the bright hope of prosperity and 
peace in the union under the Constitution. 

Take these words — take this bright prospect from 
us, and leave instead the dark probable future, which 


6 


TIIE CENTENNIAL. 


the experience of past ages seems to foretell — the birth, 
the growth, the decay of all human institutions — and 

with echoes sounding in my ear : Decaying ! dying ! 

6 

then, as one without hope in this world, I would pre- 
fer that my eyes should close ere the coming on of the 
long and dreary night. 

When Cadmus heard the mystic voice 
To sow the Dragon’s teeth, 
lie made a furrow in the earth, 

And placed them underneath ; 

When lu ! a mighty crop came forth 
Of fierce and armed men, 

Who soon in civil war engaged, 

And fought till all were slain 
But five. They strove and pierced and slew, 

Till only five remained ; 

Who then threw ’way tlie:r bloody spears, 

Exclaiming : Why should we 
Persist in shedding brothers’ blood ? 

Then tears coursed down their cheeks, 

And clasping hands, long peace prevailed. 

We, too, liave reaped a crop of discord, bloodshed, 
blight. We, too, have sown the Dragon’s teeth — 
pride, ambition, hatred, fanaticism — which, taking 
root, myriads of armed men came forth, destroying 
and devising means to destroy, till ruined homes and 
slaughtered ranks and ghastly wounds made sad the 
war-worn hearts. 

Then bending low upon the earth, arms were groun- 
ded, and peace, dear bought, prevailed — a conquered 
peace — not peace of love. 

Yet, time has wrought a change for good. Hatred 
is losing power to lire the blood ; and peace is sought 
— enduring peace — on wisdom founded, when the er- 
ring past, if not forgotten, will be forgiven. 

Many are now anxious for the centennial day to 
come, that we may rally around the flag of our com- 
mon country, proclaiming to the nations of the earth 


THE CENTENNIAL. 


7 


that liberty, born and nurtured as it has been here, 
can never die. 

A free people, as we have been, may differ among 
themselves — may divide into hostile armies, may shed 
blood and lay waste ; and yet, when exhaustion takes 
place, and passion subsides, the remembrance of the 
blessings of liberty and peace, and the practical work- 
ings of constitutional government, will ever, I hope, 
enable them to return to its support, with resolves 
made strong by dear experience, and with hopes that 
their posterity may maintain it, and hand it down ev- 
ermore. 


A CONCISE HISTORY OF THE FOURTH OF JULY, IN 
ATLANTA, 1865 , 1873 , ’ 74 , AND ’ 75 . 

[Atlanta New Era, Thursday, July 6, 1865.] 

THE FOURTH OF JULY. 

By the military stationed in this city and its vicinity, 
the day that gave birth to what is now one of the 
mightiest nations of the world, was appropriately cele- 
brated. The troops, composed of the Third and 
Fourth regiments Iowa Cavalry, and company I of the 
Twelfth Regulars, United States Artillery, appeared 
to be in line condition, as they marched through the 
streets of our city, and were being reviewed by their 
commander, General Winslow. Too much credit 
cannot be bestowed upon the Commandant of the Post, 
Lieutenant-Colonel Peters, and upon Captain 
Saint, Post Provost Marshal, for the excellent order 
preserved throughout our city during the parade and 
formal celebration of and during the entire day. 

At the Court House the day was also commemora- 
ted, Mr. J. A. Stewart reading the Declaration of In- 
dependence, portions of Washington's Farewell Ad- 
dress, preceding and following them with remarks 


8 


THE CENTENNIAL. 


illustrative of the past, and giving some most excellent 
advice as to the future — counseling forbearance among 
those whom past differences and past trials had 
estranged. Other gentlemen, we learn, addressed the 
meeting ; but as we had engagements which called us 
away, we can, in reference to their remarks, only speak 
from report, and will, therefore, say but little. 

Suffice it then to say that the day passed away 
agreeably with us, as we trust it did with our citizens 
generally ; and if anything did transpire to mar the 
efforts of the head of our government, and of all wise 
and patriotic men who are now engaged in the work of 
reconstruction and peace, as has been reported to us, 
we can attribute it only to a want of sense on the part 
of him who occasioned it, and a want of what is now 
required of every good and patriotic man. 


In 1873. 

Col. H. D. Capers, introduced by Col. II. A. Alston, 
of the Herald , delivered an appropriate address in 
the Representative hall, to an attentive audience. 


In 1874. 

[The Daily Herald, Sunday, July 5th, 1874.] 

THE GLORIOUS FOURTH, ITS CELEBRATION IN ATLANTA 
AND ELSEWHERE — EXCURSIONS, MUSIC, PICNICS, 
ORATIONS, AND A GENERAL CLASHING OF THE 
TOM TOMS — FUN, FUSS, AND ACCIDENT. 

SCENES IN THE CITY. 


The “ Fourth” broke bright and splendid! 

Beyond the fact that the sullen cannon at the Bar- 
racks boomed twice upon the morning stillness, and 
with its noisy roar stirred apathetic sleepers from 
their sunrise naps, there was evidence that a day of un- 
usual moment had come upon us. 


THE CENTENNIAL. 


9 


Upon the streets very early there was a bustle of mu- 
sic and processions, a waving of banners, and flashing 
of bouquets, as the various picnic excursions/prepared 
for their exodus. They melted from the city by 8 
o’clock, and all was quiet again. A Sunday stillness 
rested on everything. The merchants, as a general 
rule, remained stiffly at their posts, hoping to catch 
the floating penny. 

About ten o’clock, the bustle on the streets was re- 
newed, and redoubled. Gangs of twenties and hun- 
dreds sprang into existence, and, gaping-mouthed, gaz- 
ed at the sights as they wandered up and down the 
streets, bespeaking themselves ever so plainly, “ rural 
excursionists.” They gave animation to the day, and 
afforded the curbstone patriot a passing panorama rich 
with incident and suggestion. At ten o'clock this re- 
porter wended his way to DeGive’s Opera House, 
where the event of the day, 

COL. JAS. A. STEWART’S ORATION, 

was to take place. 

He found DeGive’s pretty well filled, the audience 
being especially intelligent and composed notably of 
old men — old veterans in whose hearts the love of the 
old Republic was still dominant, whose memories still 
hold the glories of that golden age stretching from ’40 
to ’60. On the stage we found the orator himself, a 
splendid type of the old school of American gentlemen, 
with face as kindly and as noble as ever looked for- 
givingly upon sin; massive head; rolling forehead; eye 
cpen, frank, and utterly without guile; portly in form, 
calm, honest and happy. On the stage with him were 
a half dozen of his compeers : Mr. Jonathan Norcross, 
Mr. L. Dean, or Squire Dean, as he is known, Col. 
James Calhoun, Mr. Jack ISTeal (“ Uncle Jack”) — Mr. 
T. Burke, Col. A. W. Mitchell, and one or two others. 


10 


THE CENTENNIAL. 


A PURE AND BEAUTIFUL SPEECH. 

. Tlie orator was introduced by Col. James Calhoun 
(who alluded to him as an old friend) in a neat and 
elegant little talk. 

Col. Stewart then arose, and delivered one of the 
happiest speeches ever sent to an audience from that 
stage : while he lias none of the loud-mouthed ranting, 
so popular in this day, there was an earnest and trem- 
ulous eloquence in his voice — an earnest and heartful 
dash of sincerity that went to every soul in the house. 

AYe can only briefly svnopsize the speech. 

He reviewed the history of this Government, as 
compared with other Governments, and drew from 
this parallel sound and forcible lessons, concluding 
with a sweet and soulful original poem, indicating the 
drift of this Government towards Imperialism, and 
suggesting some pf the evils of the natural results of 
that drift. He was applauded frequently, and held 
his audience completely. He has established his rep- 
utation in Atlanta as a pleasing and enjoyable speak- 
er. As Col. Tom Howard said, his speech was “as 
solid as a wedge of pure gold.” 


[Daily Constitution, Sunday, July 5tli, 1874.] 

THE FOURTH — HOW IT WAS OBSERVED — SCENES AND 
INCIDENTS — EXCURSIONS FROM ALABAMA — FORTY 
THOUSAND PEOPLE IN THE CITY — TARGET 
PRACTICE OF THE CADETS — ORATION OF 

MR J. A. STEWART. 

Mr. J. A. Stewart delivered the oration at DeGive’s 
at half past ten o’clock. On the stage we noted Col. 
J. M. Calhoun, J. Norcross, J. Neal, A. W. Mitchell, 
L. Dean, and T. Burke. 

The address of Mr. Stewart was sensible, well de- 


11 


THE CENTENNIAL. 


livered, and repeatedly applauded. lie said that 
however ignorant the people might be, there was no 
danger so long as those at the helm were pure and 
honest. The old can point to a time when the gov- 
ernment w r as entitled to respect. But they have noth- 
ing in unison with the young who were educated in 
the midst of turmoil. They have been taught to hate 
the Government by the Government itself. There is 
nothing inviting in monarchy, that we should wish to 
turn away from liberty. Under the Constitution as 
it was, slaves were better protected. A living was 
guaranteed them. Such a thing never existed before. 
There were then no poor slaves. But what of them now l 

He then graphically reviewed the history of the 
Constitution and the undying principles of govern- 
ment, and the history of party struggles. The inor- 
dinate thirst for office was the malady, notwithstand- 
ing the factious opposition of the “outs” to the “ins.” 
hfo President, from Washington down to I860, ever 
attempted to violate the Constitution. Lincoln resort- 
ed to it under stress of war, but doubted its constitu- 
tionality. Political malcontents at the North raised 
the cry of “Higher Law, 1 ’ which culminated in war. 
This is still our country — the last hope of the world 
for the preservation of civil liberty. 

T!ie speaker concluded with his Bream of Imperial- 
ism — a very fine production. 

He was loudly applauded at irs close. 


In 1875. 

This 4tli of July (1875,) would probably have had 
no celebration but for a circumstance I will here re- 
late : In March last, I commenced composing a cen- 

tennial poem, and as I progressed with it, I sought 


12 


THE CENTENNIAL. 


opportunities to read it to my literary acquaintances 
and friends. As it grew in volume, I felt that it pos- 
sessed sufficient merit to justify an arrangement to 
have it read on the 4th. This I mentioned to my friend, 
Col. J. N. Dunn. He was favorably impressed with 
the poem, and thought it might have a good effect in 
allaying sectional animosities ; and he consented to 
aid me in getting an audience on the 4th. 

A formal letter of invitation was written bv Mr. 

•/ 

Dunn ; and a formal reply by myself, with instructions 
to not proceed in the matter unless a willingness was 
manifested by the citizens to give me support and 
encouragement. He found nothing in the way, and 
the invitation, with the names of several good citizens 
appended, received from me, in response, a formal ac- 
ceptance, which was published in the Herald early in 
June. 

After the matter had proceeded thus far, I felt that 
the occasion required something more than the mere 
reading of a thirty minute’s poem ; and I commenced 
an outlook for some one to deliver an address. I met 
with the Hon. Geo. Hillyer, in the office of Drs. John- 
son & Miller, and asked him if he would consent to 
be with me on the 4th, and deliver an address. He 
declined, remarking that he was not qualified for the 
delivery of a Fourth of July address. Dr. Miller then 
suggested that Hon. A. H. Stephens would be the 
right man. Thereupon, without further search, I wrote 
a letter of invitation, and secured to it eighty or ninet} 7 " 
names. I then proceeded without delay, to Crawford- 
ville, and after remaining with Mr. Stephens two days, 
he furnished me with his letter of acceptance, which 
was published in the city papers. 

Immediately on my return I had said letters — the 
invitation to Mr. Stephens, and his acceptance — pub- 
lished in the Constitution and Herald ; also a call, 


THE CEXTEXNIAL. 


13 


signed by myself, for a meeting at the Chamber of 
Commerce, to arrange the programme. A few of the 
signers of the invitation attended. I furnished them 
with a list of names — thirteen in all — with Sidney 
Dell, Esq., as chairman, to constitute a committee of 
arrangements. 

This was accepted, and Dr. Miller being present, 
we obtained his consent to serve as chairman of com- 
mittee on invitation. We put on that committee with 
him Hon. George Hilly er and Marcus A. Bell, Esq. 

Thus organized and ready ; for business, there was 
no lack of energy on the part of the committees to 
make the occasion one to be proud of. Mr. Dell and 
his committee worked with an energy that nothing but 
a good cause could inspire. He performed his part 
nobly and well. 

The committee on invitation — Dr. Miller, Mr. Hill- 
ver, and M. A. Bell — deserve great credit for their 
promptness and efficiency in extending the invitations 
which brought in response the numerous and patriot- 
ic letters which have appeared. Capt. Oliver Jones, 
as marshal of the day, will be remembered for his 
courtesies and efficient services, whilst our leading 
men and prominent citizens who fell into line with 
this great spontaneous movement of the people, have 
done themselves great credit in thus co-operating with 
the masses in the work of looking to the centennial 
as the occasion for a better feeling between the North 
and the South, and of a return in good faith to the 
Union under the Constitution. 

The Herald , the Constitution , and the Common- 
wealth devoted their columns with commendable zeal 
and ability to the occasion. 

The interest manifested by the people in the cere- 
monies, the dense living masses of citizens — white and 
colored — on the side-walksand in the streets, mingling 


14 


THE CENTENNIAL. 


with and following the procession of the Blue and the 
Gray to the speaker’s stand, was a spectacle which 
drew forth tears that trickled down and moistened 
many a withered and time-worn cheek, as hopes were 
renewed for the return of the brighter and purer days 
of our republic. 

A philosophic view of the scenes and incidents pre- 
sented can readily discover that good impulses, as well 
as evil, are contagious ; and that a move for good, 
when circumstances are favorable, is communicated 
to, and felt by others, until it permeates the masses 
and sheds its bright and happy influences abroad in 
the land. 

Mr. Stephens, inspired by the occasion, as the vast 
concourse of people assembled to manifest their re- 
spect and love for the day, made us a great and good 
speech, which is now history, and from which we can 
draw lessons of wisdom to shield us from the renewal of 
strifes, and to point the way to conciliation and peace. 

The speech in full of Mr. Stephens, together with 
the fine, patriotic letters from distinguished Georgians, 
in response to invitations, wall be found in pamphlet 
form at the Atlanta Herald office. Price, 25 cents. 


JUDGE JAMES JACKSON’S LETTER. 

[From the Herald’s 4th of July Pamphlet.] 

“where my heart beats, precisely there does. 

MY JUDGMENT POINT AND MY COMMON 

SENSE LEAD ME.” 


Macon, Ga., June 28, 1875. 

To lions. II V. M. Miller , George Hilly er, and 
Marcus A. Bell. 

Gentlemen: — I have received your invitation to 
participate in person, or by letter, in the celebration 
of the approaching Fourth of July, at Atlanta, for 


THE CENTENNIAL. 


15 


which I thank you. I cannot attend in person, and 
therefore I ask that this letter shall represent me. 

I am at a loss to find any sensible reason for South- 
ern men to decline to participate in the celebration of 
the day. The pen of a Southern man wrote the Decla- 
ration of Independence. I see from the papers that 
the lineal descendant of a Georgian, who bore a dis- 
tinguished part in the struggle of our ancestors to es- 
tablish this independence, has been selected to read 
that declaration on the occasion of your celebration. 
Why should he not do so ? Shall we not love the vir- 
tues and commemorate the deeds of our own ancestors, 
or shall we leave it to the North alone to canonize 
deeds whose glory appertains as much to us as to 
them — aye, more to us than to them? Not only did 
our Jefferson write the declaration, but cur Washing- 
ton led the armies which vindicated and established 
it on seven years of battle iields ; and whatever Nor - 
thern men may have done since to overthrow princi- 
ples which their fathers followed Jefferson and Wash- 
ington to proclaim and establish, we certainly have 
done nothing to overthrow those privileges. On the 
contrary, we again proclaimed them in 1861 , and 
fought for their maintenance for four bloody years. 
If in so doing we were rebels, we came honestly by 
the name; we were legitimate rebels, begotten and 
born in lawful wedlock, and we are entitled to inherit 
the glory as well as the name of our fathers, and to 
keep it alive in toast, song, oratory, festivities. Our 
fathers succeeded; we failed; in every other particular, 
the child is the image of his father. Because of cha- 
grin at our failure, shall we refuse to laud their pow- 
ers and glory in their success ? I trust not, gentlemen. 
I cannot find it in my heart to tear revolutionary 
heart-strings out, and empty it of the blood of my 
fathers. 


16 


THE CENTENNIAL. 


And wllere my heart beats, precisely there does my 
judgment point and my common sense lead me. It is 
not wise in the South to keep open the chasm the late 
war has riven. Recent events show a disposition on 
the part of the North to close it up. We cannot afford 
ruthlessly to throw down the abutment of the bridge 
which rests on our side of the chasm, nor should we 
undermine it, nor weaken those on the other side who 
are at work in strengthening the abutment there. 

Our only hope for a return of those in authority to 
conservative principle and practice is in u the second 
sober thought” of all the people, exercised through 
the ballot box. Every word spoken, or letter written, 
rejecting or insulting the proffered hand of Northern 
conciliation, is not “a word spoken in season,” and it 
can not be said of it, “ how good it is.” It evinces a 
sour, unforgiving, revengeful spirit ; and every such 
word or letter will be scattered broadcast over the 
North, and will have there the effect of crippling all 
the friends of conservative principles, and of concilia- 
tory and friendly conduct to us. 

For myself, gentlemen, I hail with sincere pleasure 
every promise of conciliation. The storm w r as wild 
and furious — a very cyclone in its sweep over South- 
ern hearthstones and happiness ; the clouds, though 
broken and scattered, are still black, and may gather 
again ; however indistinct the hues of the rainbow are 
promising sunshine to our once sunny South, it is a 
bow of promise sweet to my heart and hope, and I 
pray that it may span the whole American heavens, 
and never be obscured by a cloud or speck of war. 

I trust that the Mecklenburg and Bunker Hill re- 
unions, and your own celebration of the 4th of July, 
gentlemen, may tend to reunite all sections of our 
country upon the old principles founded on the Dec- 
laration of ’76, and the constitution of the fathers ; and 



THE CENTENNIAL. 


17 


if toasts shall be the order of the day, I send you this : 
The Reader of the Declaration of Independence — It is 
tit that the son should unite in celebrating the deeds of 
his ancestor ; may the Milledge blood never become 
extinct in Georgia. I am, 

Respectfully, your obed'nt serv’t, 

James Jackson. 


AN APPEAL FOR THE RELEASE OF MR. STE- 
PHENS FROM FORT WARREN. 


EXTRACT of a letter to the president. 


Rome, Ga., Aug. 12, 1865. 
His Excellency , Andrew Johnson : 

But it was my purpose in this communication to 
again address you in reference to Hon. A. II. Stephens. 
Having, I think, a thorough knowledge of Mr. Ste- 
phens’ position prior to, and during the whole pro- 
gress of the war, I can sajq confidently, that secession 
never met his sanction, except through force of cir- 
cumstances as a horrible and painful necessity ; and 
that his imprisonment, under the circumstances, in 
the view of every reasonable man South, is without 
sufficient cause, and not justifiable. 

Mr. Stephens, as you will perceive from the enclosed 
copy of a recent letter from him, is rejoiced at the 
prospect of returning peace ; and would not hesitate 
to encourage a speedy and full acquiescence in the 
terms proposed. 


18 


THE CENTENNIAL. 


Release him, if in your power to do so. Release 
him without delay. Let me urge you, as your friend, 
and a friend to the best interests of our country, to re- 
lease him on parole, and let him return to the bosom 
of his friends and the comforts of home, where his 
delicate health and frail body may gather new strength, 
and where his voice of counsel may again be heard. 

I have no prominent position to back up my solici- 
tations in Mr. Stephens’ behalf ; nor can I calculate 
much on your very limited personal acquaintance with 
me. But I am an honest man and a true lover of my 
country, and am actuated in this appeal by no selfish 
or mercenary motives ; and I feel assured that I am 
addressing one equally honest and patriotic — one who 
will not turn a deaf ear to the pleadings of an honest 
and reasonable appeal, in behalf of a good man, who 
has committed no willful sin. 

Yours most respectfully, 

J r A. Stewart. 


Fokt Warren,- Boston Harbor, Mass. 

21st July, 1865. 

Mr. J. A. Stewart, Louisville , Ky. 

My Dear Sir : — Yours of the lOtli inst. was re- 
ceived to-day. Language would fail to express to you 
the thanks I feel for it. I cannot write to you as fully 
as I wish. I am suffering from rheumatism in the 
hand, and cannot use the pen without pain. You 
will please take the will for the deed. 

You understand me thoroughly, I think. I went 
with the State on secession from a sense of duty only. 

' * \r st st st 

tc w vr -a w 

But I can say no more, except again to thank you 
for your letters — the one to me just received, and the 


TIIE CENTENNIAL. 


19 


one you wrote to the President. I should be glad to 
hear from you often. 

This I shall send to Louisville, with directions to be 
forwarded to Rome, Ga., in case you shall have left 
the former place before it reaches there. 

Yours truly, 

Alexander H. Stephens. 


) 

LETTER TO MR. STEPHENS. 


Atlanta, Ga., March 10th, 1861. 

7i "A 7^ r A 7 » 7* 7f *>C 

It is human to err. Mr. Stephens, I think, lias erred; 
he has lost his ballast amidst the tumult of conflicting 
passions and discordant elements. 

But he is an honest man, and will yet return. The 
high standard of his moral integrity will follow in the 
lead of his honest convictions. If in the wrong now, 
he will, when convinced, nobly retrace his steps and 
enter again into the old Confederacy, purified by the 
ordeal through which he has passed, bringing with 
him his people, and, with friendship renewed upon 
the altar of patriotism, enter again under the protect- 
ing shield of a common country. In this, the trying 
hour of adversity and increasing perils, I w r ould 
exhort conservative union men of the seceded States 
to be calm and prudent, avoiding the use of language, 
even though prudent and just, if calculated to irritate 

rather than convince 

Yours very truly, 

J. A. Stewart. 


20 


THE CENTENNIAL. 


RETURN TO THE UNION. 


MR. STEPHENS HAS RETURNED — HEAR HIM. 


WHAT THE PEOPLE OF GEORGIA WANT. 

“My opinion, and decided opinion, is that an over- 
whelming majority of the people of Georgia are ex- 
ceedingly anxious for the restoration of the Govern- 
ment, and for the States to take their former position 
in the Union ; to have her Senators and Representa- 
tives admitted into Congress, and to enjoy all her 
rights, and to discharge all her obligations as a State 
under the Constitution of the United States as it stands 
amended.” — Testimony of A. IT. Stephens before the 
Reconstruction Committee. 

RIGHT OF SECESSION. 

“I think there has been a very decided change of 
opinion, as to the policy, by those who favored it. I 
think the people generally are satisfied sufficiently 
with the experiment never to resort to that measure of 
redress again by force, whatever may be their own 
abstract ideas upon the subject.” — A. II. Stephens. 

RESTORATION. 

“I have little hope for liberty — little hope for the 
success of the great American experiment of self-gov- 
ernment — but in the success of the present efforts for 
the restoration of the States to their former practical 
relations in a common government, under the Consti- 
tution of the United States.” — A. II. Stephens , Feb . 
22 , 1866 . 


21 


THE CENTENNIAL. 


ISSUES OE TIIE WAR. 

“We should accept the issues of the war, and abide 
by them in good faith.” — Stephens. ' 

OUR COUNTRY. 

“ Whether Georgia, by the action of her Convention 
of 1861, was ever rightfully out of the Union or not, 
there can be no question that she is now in, so far as 
depends on her will and deed. The whole United 
States, therefore, is now, without question, our country, 
to be cherished and defended as such, by all our 
hearts and all our arms.” — Stephens , Feb. 22, 1866. 

THE PARAMOUNT LAW. 

“The Constitution of the United States, and the 
treaties and laws in pursuance thereof, are now ac- 
knowledged to be the paramount law in this whole 
country.” — Stephens , Feb. 22, 1866. 

IT IS HUMAN TO ERR. 

Mr. Stephens has returned, and is trying to bring 
his people with him, to re-unite under the protecting 
shield of a common country. 

Mr. Stephens’ address before the General Assembly 
of the State of Georgia, February 22d, 1866, to be 
found in Cleveland’s “Life and Speeches of Alexander 
H. Stephens,” should be read by the people every- 
where. It is one of the best and noblest documents 
of the age. 


A CHAPTER OF BREVITIES. 


WAR, OR THE FATE OF SOLDIERS. 

“Dost thou not know the fate of soldiers? They 
are but Ambition’s tools, to cut away to her unlawful 


22 


THE CENTENNIAL. 


ends ; and when they're worn, hacked and hewn, with 
constant service, thrown aside to rust in peace and 
rot in hospitals.” 

WAR SUSPENDS THE RULE OF MORAL OBLIGATION. 

“War suspends the rule of moral obligation; and 
what is long suspended is in danger of being totally 
abrogated. Civil wars strike deepest of all into the 
manners of the people. They vitiate their politics ; 
they corrupt their morals ; they pervert even the natu- 
ral taste and relish of equity and justice. By teach- 
ing us to consider our fellow-creatures in a false light, 
the whole body of the nation becomes less dear to us. 
The very names of affection and kindred, which were 
the bonds of charity whilst we agreed, become new 
incentives to hatred and rage, when the communion 
of our country is dissolved.” 

PEACE — ITS ENEMIES. 

“Five great enemies of peace inhabit with us — viz : 
Avarice, Ambition, Envy, Anger, and Pride ; and if 
these enemies were to be banished we should infallibly 
enjoy perpetual peace.” 

HIGHER LAW. 

The higher-law men of both sections, however honest 
they may be, are responsible for the war ; and both 
considered war essential to the attainment of their 
ends : the one to establish the higher law of State 
Sovereignty — the other, the higher law of Congres- 
sional domination over the Constitution and the rights 
of the States. 

PEACE. 

We need peace — absolute, enduring peace. We 
have had enough of war, and have paid dearly for our 
experience. Can we not now have less of party agita- 
tions, and more attention to peaceful pursuits? Can 
not partisans and politicians sta} 7 their incendiary 


TIIE CENTENNIAL. 


23 


appeals to tlie passions and prejudices of the people % 
Or, if not, can not the people themselves cease to be 
influenced by them ? 

CAN DWELL AMONGST US IN SAFETY. 

The negro is now free and in possession of the elec- 
tive franchise ; and all are willing to let him remain 
so. The Southern Confederacy has now no existence ; 
its army has long since been disbanded ; its leaders 
have received pardon ; Union men are not mobbed ; 
whilst Northern men cah come and dwell amongst us 
in safety. 

“teutii is mighty and must prevail.” 

A people accustomed to free thought, and free 
speech, a free press, and civil liberty, cannot long be 
swayed by error. 

THE UNDERLYING PRINCIPLE. 

We should never lose sight of the great underlying 
principle and design of good government — that of pre- 
venting men from injuring one another. 

THE RECOIL. 

The measures enacted, requiring great and radical 
changes in the form of Government, and the endorse- 
ment of the views of the higher law party North, is 
the recoil upon us of our experiment to dissolve the 
Union. 

*. .- 

A pendulum, when thrown to one side from its nat- 
ural perpendicular, will return and vibrate to the ex- 
treme on the other side ; so, in all violent upheavals 
of popular government, extremes have their opposites ; 
and the vibrations will continue so long as sectional or 
partisan animosity is permitted to give the impulse. 

If we can profit by our experience, and become wiser 
and more prudent, the extremes will subside, and the 
Government as it was will re-appear. This is the 

ONLY REMEDY. 


24 


THE CENTENNIAL. 


COMMON SENSE. 

Common sense, in managing tlie necessary political 
affairs of a people, is as essential to the public good 
as common sense in the successful workings of our 
various industrial and business pursuits. 

The signs of the times indicate a change for 

THE BETTER. 

OUR WAR 

Had a beginning, and it has had an end. The smoke 
of battle has passed away ; the clash of arms is heard 
no more ; whilst the solemn spectacle of desolation 
has restored us to reason. And I now imagine a 
beautiful picture emerging from the tears and sorrows 
of the past. A once great people, chastened by ad- 
versity, and the bitter fruits of civil strife, are seeking, 
with mutual explanations and forgiveness, to renew 
the bonds of friendship, and to make the once loved 
country again the idol of our hearts, our hopes, and 
our prayers. 

AVOID PROVOCATION. 

Let no unnecessary provocation drop from the 
pen, or escape the lips ; and let this be the rule of in- 
tercourse with our fellow-man. Let this govern, espe- 
cially our politics and our religion, and we can then 
promise for the future the realization of a brighter 
hope than ever fell to the lot of man. 

THE ERA OF GOOD FEELING IS COMING. 

Extract of a letter from Gen. Clement A. Evans, of 
Augusta, Ga., to Wm. Goodnow, Esq., of Atlanta : 

“A better understanding between the people of the 
North and South is securing fraternity. In that res- 
toration wiser counsels will everywhere prevail. Po- 
litical virtue will have an early resurrection, and the 
threatening financial clouds will break in prospering 


THE CENTENNIAL. 


25 


showers. The thinking men of the whole country 
will join you in your congratulations on the speedy 
cessation of all war-feelings. If we ought not to fight 
with the sword like men, let us not quarrel like 
children. It is neither polite, nor patriotic, nor manly 
to make now a war of words and measures in personal 
and political enmity. Spitefulness becomes neither 
of the great sections of this land, and the cost of such 
a war to the country is the decay of the prosperity, 
the loss of its patriotism, and the death of its man- 
hood. 

“ I beg leave to thank you for the letter which you 
have kindly written, and, joining you in its patriotic 
sentiments, express the hope that there may be such 
an interchange of sentiments and personal visits by 
the Northern and Southern people during this year, as 
to prepare all for the centennial celebration of the 
great ideas and great deeds of our revolutionary fore- 
fathers. 

“ I am most sincerely your friend, 

6 4 Clement A. Evans. v 

Extract of Gen. Clement A. Evans’ speech on the 
occasion of laying the corner stone of the Confederate 
Monument, at Augusta, Ga., 1875: 

“Let us do nothing to keep alive the passions of 
war. To study its lessons is prudence, to profit by 
its teachings is wisdom, but to stir up the old animosi- 
ties is madness. 

“ The voice of this monument will not be for war, 
but for peace. 

“It will say to us, the Confederacy has expired. 
Its great life went out on the purple tide of blood that 
flowed from the hearts of its sons. We have buried 
it ; we do not intend to exhume its remains. 

“We were utterly defeated, and we dismiss our re- 


2G 


THE CENTENNIAL. 


sentments. Sadly we furled the dear, dear old banner 
of the cross and stars, which we followed through 
many a storm of shot and shell ; but we take with the 
true hand of Southern honor the staff that holds the 
flag of the stars and stripes. 

“I respond with truest feeling to-day to the frater- 
nal words of Gen. Bartlett, spoken at the centennial 
celebration of the first battle of the old revolution.” 

TIIE HON. B. II. HILL, 

On a recent occasion, in the Representative Hall, At- 
lanta, Ga., made the best speech of his life. It em- 
braced a patriotic and noble expression of an earnest 
desire to make the union perpetual, under the guaran- 
tees of the Constitution. 


LESSONS FOR THE TIMES. 


The reader should keep in view the great truth, that 
no prosperity can be permanent except on the basis of 
peace, and exemption from turmoil and danger. 

We should bear in mind, too, that all great and 
sudden changes — all tidal waves of pride, and hate, 
and war — fall upon the masses like the hot breath of a 
consuming fire, enabling a few to absorb all of wealth 
and power ; and that all extremes, from whatever 
cause, serve the ends of the crafty and venal, and 
tempt men away from habits of industry, moderation, 
and probity. 

Peace — enduring peace — fostered and maintained 
by a government which refrains from robbery, but 


THE CENTENNIAL. 


27 


which otherwise expends all its energies in securing 
to the hand of industry the bread it has earned, is the 
only solid ground on which to base hopes for the 
future prosperity of state or country. 

The record of the past is history in a circle : Peace 
makes plenty, and plenty begets pride ; and pride, 
becoming ambitious and quarrelsome, begets war. 
War begets poverty, and poverty begets peace. 

This is history in a circle. It is history repeating 
itself ; and, until man learns the art of enduring peace, 
this circle w T ill never be broken. 

The intervals of peace, however, seem to be length- 
ening, and wars of shorter duration ; which is evidence 
that man is profiting by the experience of the past, 
and that the sad circle of history may yet give way to 
an ascending scale of enlightened and enduring peace. 

. Prior to the late great trouble, 

Every thing seemed moving well — 

Every plough and hoe made money, 

And our pride began to swell. 

We had, years and years, been peaceful, 

And our peace had made us rich — 

Made us proud, ambitious, quarrelsome ; 

Then came dying in the ditch — 

Dying, dying, fighting, dying, 

In the valley, on the plain — 

Homes deserted — children starving — 

Fathers fallen— brothers slain. 

And when thus the ranks were thinning. 

Homes in ruins, fields laid waste, 

Men were busy seizing, robbing — 

Slacking not their greed or haste. 

Eager in the darkest hours — 

Safe removed from plain or ditch — 

Speculating, robbing, thieving, 

Growing, growing, growing rich. 


23 


THE CENTENNIAL. 


Feeding, fattening, on the plunder 
Which the war placed in their way, 

Were the greedy sharks and vampires, 
Watching — seeking for their prey. 

Thus it was in proud old England, 

In her wars that long prevailed ; 

Chiefs grew rich by war and plunder, 
And then had their wealth entailed. 

When a.few are selfish — greedy, 
Craving, grasping, seizing all ; 

Then it is a question only, 

When the country reaps the fall. 

It may flourish for a season, 

And it may proud cities boast ; 

Yet injustice past enduring, 

Wastes her strength, and all is lost. 


Sad and dreary, lone Palmyra, 

On whose greatness ruin falls, 

Has her history plainly written 
On her silent, crumbling walls — 

In the desert which surrounds her — 

In the waste of dreary plains — 

In the lifeless, voiceless silence, 

Which o’er ruin’s vastness reigns. 

There, where mournful silence lingers, 
Festive shouts of joy arose ; 

And where lie her prostrate pillars, 

Once sprang forth the fragrant rose- 

Tliere once flourished countless blessings — 
Commerce, power, grandeur, w r ealth ; 

And those walls which now so desert, 

Once re-echoed life and health. 

She had riches of all nations — 

Gold of Opliir, tin of Thule — 

Ivashmire’s tissues, Tyre’s purple, 

Lydia’s fabrics, rich and full — 


THE CENTENNIAL. 


29 


Amber of the Baltic regions — 

Sweet perfumes and ’Bahia’s pearls — 
Useful things, and things of beauty, 

Like a paradise of worlds. 

Happy mortals mixing, mingling, 

Soul with soul, and breath with breath, 
Long returned to dust and ashes 
In the solitude of death ! 

What has caused this desolation. 

Once so great, and now so low, 

May be pondered o’er with profit — 

May forewarn us of our woe. 

May enlighten us of causes — 

May enable us to scan 
What obscures a brighter pathway 
To a higher state of man. 


Land of Syria — now so wasted, 
Numbered cities by the score ; 

And with village, town, and hamlet, 
Hills and dales were dotted o’er. 

Everywhere were soil aud tillage, 
Everywhere abundauce flowed ; 

Everywhere a bounteous heaven 
Blessings rich and full bestowed. 

Blessings’equal in their bearings, 
Laws impartial, judgments just ; 

Shielding all alike from rapine — 

All alike from greed and lust. 

Then the poor had full protection, 
Men of rapine were restrained ; 

Then was labor full requited, 

And rich blessings w T ere retained. 

Justice then, esteemed and practiced, 
Equal rights and equal share 

Of the kindl} r gifts of nature, 

In profusion showered there. 


30 


TIIE CENTENNIAL. 


But when peace of years made plenty, 
And was filled all heart’s desire, 

Then came schisms and disorder, 

Like a great consumiug fire. 

In the midst of glare and glamour, 

In the grandeur of the throne, 

Princes, lost to sense of justice, 
Claimed all riches as their own. 

Appetites, all pampered, craving, 

Grew unbridled in demand, 

’Till industry, unprotected, 

Ceased to cultivate the land. 

Thus was blasted fertile regions, 

Thus were cities overthrown ; 

Thus Palmyra, of the desert, 

Sank to ruin, sad and lone. 

Thus we see the fate of peoples, 
Where injustice long prevails ; 

Thus we see the desolations, 

Which the pride of wealth entails. 

Thus we learn from crumbling cities 
— Fragments scattered o’er the plain, 

What it is ambition costs us — 

What the price of greed for gain. 

Thus a lesson for the future 
May we clearly, strongly draw, 

That a country’s good in common 
Finds its strength in equal law. 


THE CENTENNIAL. 


31 


THE PROBLEM OF PEACE AND GOOD GOV- 
ERNMENT CONSIDERED. 


The problem of good government, coupled with en- 
during peace, lias not yet been very satisfactorily 
solved. 

We certainly have been blessed to satiety with po- 
litical expounders, and especially those engaged at 
cross roads, or in groceries, in elucidating great polit- 
ical ideas, or infusing patriotic impulses through the 
means of artificial incentives. 

The efficacy of free thought, free speech, and free 
suffrage has here, in this country, been largely ex- 
perimented upon, and the results are known ; while 
the contests abroad between royal bloods for the 
crown, or for extent of dominion, have left no line of 
argument which commends imperialism or monarchy 
to our sanction. 

The people of the American colonies in 1776 aban- 
doned monarchy as arbitrary, oppressive, and unjust ; 
and as bloody, violent, and rapacious. 

Since the commencement of our experiment of free 
government, we have been favored, through the free- 
dom of speech and of the press, with every variety 
and shade of opinions and views on the all-absorbing 
topic of the public good. 

Political philosophers and expounders, finding 
themselves untrammeled, were to be seen in every 
public hall, and on every stump, and in every bar- 
room throughout the land, expatiating on the great 
principles and measures of government, the wisdom 
of our fathers, and glories they achieved. Or, when 


32 


THE CENTENNIAL. 


stepping down a little from tlieir spread-eagle decla- 
mations, we find them on the eve of elections in com- 
mittee rooms, preparing their philosophical pro- 
grammes for illustrating to the people the inestimable 
privilege of the glorious gift of suffrage. 

It was on Saturday, 1858, the philosophers met in 
Atlanta. (I mean philosophers, for, if politicians are 
not wise and good men, they ought to be.) An elec- 
tion for Governor, or something else, was to come off 
on the following Monday. I found old experienced 
savans guiding and directing the deliberations, and 
perfecting programmes for illustrating and demon- 
strating to the honest yeomanry and fellow-citizens, 
the immense advantage to them of voting wisely, often , 
and well. 

It was gravely resolved that patriotic saloon keep- 
ers, w r ithin the saving sphere of our influence, should 
be furnished with a sum of genuine old-fashioned 
cash, with instructions to buy the purest and most 
patriotic Bourbon or Robertson County whisky, to be 
fourth proof and sparkling, in remembrance of “ the 
star spangled banner,” and to treat freely, without 
money and without price, all who could £ be made 
willing to have their minds thus enlightened and ren- 
dered comfortable. 

Rooms with locks and kevs were secured, for the 
purpose of housing and guarding our fellow-citizens 
against the bad whisky and dangerous influence of 
the Whig party, similarly engaged, (then quartered 
and housed near by), and keeping them thus penned 
and secured until Monday morning, when they could 
march up under guard to the polls like freemen, and 
cast their suffrages for the men of their choice. 

It was thus mainly that our great, and even smaller 
political philosophers, secured position and place sat- 
isfactory to their noble aspirations. And it is certainly 


THE CENTENNIAL. 


33 


a matter of wonder that constitutional liberty, under 
the tension of such resplendent manipulations, had 
not long since snapped asunder and left us amazed and 
bewildered at its dying effulgence. 

GREAT TRUTHS 

From great men in 1840, flowing from lips moist with 
hard cider, sipped from the wide mouths of capacious 
gourds, and rendered more potent by the highly in- 
tellectual entertainment of coonskin and log cabin ex- 
hibitions, have not failed to act a conspicuous part in 
shaping the destinies of our country ; whilst the “ two 
dollars a day and good roast beef, 5 ' then promised, 
had no small share in arousing that love of country 
and good government, which could furnish in pro- 
fusion such choice blessings. 

It is very evident if such patriotic provisions could 
be offered now, that any amount of votes might be 
secured. 

Seriously, it is possible we may yet be able to find 
a solution of the problem of peaceful, good govern- 
ment in this promise of u two dollars a day and good 
roast beefy 

BSir* A government has nothing to fear from a people 
who have employment and good wages, and who, free 
to follow their own pursuits of industry and improve- 
ment, are not robbed of the bread they have earned. 
And a people, however ignorant, have nothing to fear, 
when men of intelligence and purity are at the helm. 

A generation has grown up, within the past fifteen 
years, under circumstances very unfavorable to a pro- 
per conception of the government as it was ; whilst old 
men, who lived to experience a large share of its bless- 
ings, and to love and to veneiate its founders, are few 
in number, and will soon all pass away. 

It is, perhaps, well for us of whitened locks and de- 
clining years that our exit is not far distant ; as our 


34 


TIIE CENTENNIAL. 


experience, our liopes and our loves find,, perhaps, 
little in unison with them in the hearts, minds and af- 
fections of those whose education commenced in the 
midst of turmoil and strife, and whose first impres- 
sions were those of hatred to the government which 
had received from us the highest measure of patriotic 
devotion. 

As a general rule, all men have to learn their most 
valuable lessons from their own experience ; and when 
their surroundings are unfavorable to a proper appre- 
ciation of good government, they will generally drift 
into the sanction of men and measures, for the support 
of tyranny, or the overthrow of civil liberty. 

Imperialists, in all ages, are ever on the watch to 
overthrow democratic forms of government ; and noth- 
ing has afforded them a more hopeful prospect of suc- 
cess than the disrepute brought upon free government, 
by the late war and its results. 

It should not be forgotten, however, that the history 
of imperialism and monarchies is a record of rapacity, 
turmoil and blood ; and of drudgery, toil and want. 

England, so often spoken of as a model government 
— even England, since the conquest of William of Nor- 
mandy, has afflicted her people with eight bloody civil 
commotions, besides nineteen rebellions of hatred and 
rage ; whilst the earth has been cursed, through arbi- 
trary power, with a never-ending panorama of inva- 
sions, violence and oppressions. 

“The greatest danger to our country is a want of 
fidelity to truth ; a want of effort for its propagation ; 
a want of confidence in its power to bless.” 

If leading men, everywhere, would take as much 
pains to enlighten and moralize the people, as some of 
them do to deprave, deceive and mislead them, in or- 
der to catch their votes, there would then be no more 
wars, no tented fields, no jargon of drums, nor clash 


THE CENTEXNIAL. 


35 


of arms, no mangling of limbs, and no groans of the 
dying. There would be no people impoverished, and 
no turmoil, or strife, or poverty to mar the enjoyment 
of domestic tranquillity. * 

The tyrannies and oppressions of the old world pre- 
sented to view the absorption of all wealth and all 
power in the hands of the few. The millions had for 
ages been ground to the dust, and poverty, transmit- 
ted from father to son, became their inheritance. 

Despotisms and monarchies had marked every foot 
of the eastern hemisphere with palaces and prisons, 
with pomp and poverty, arrogance and servility ; and 
this was the deplorable condition of mankind when 
the discovery of America opened up an asylum for the 
oppressed. 

The persecuted and down-trodden sought here a 
resting place from the throes and convulsions of prin- 
cipalities and kingdoms. But soon the cupidity of 
rulers stretched forth a grasping hand to coerce the 
infant colonies into tributary streams to fill and re- 
plenish their coffers. 

A foreign king attempted to legislate for the new 
world in all things. The same ruthless hand which 
had pillaged and desolated the people of the old world, 
was eager to grasp and hold power over the new. 
And every petition for redress of grievances, and every 
appeal for justice and right, was met by renewed in- 
sult and aggression, until forbearance ceased to be a 
virtue, and resistance became a necessity. Then com- 
menced the war for independence ; a war which ended 
with the triumph of American arms ; a war which was 
conducted on the part of America by men who, during 
and after the conflict, sought to establish and render 
perpetual, on this continent, the blessings of civil and 
religious liberty. 

After long and serious deliberations, and after full 


36 


THE CENTENNIAL. 


and mature discussions as to the best form of govern- 
ment, the Constitution of the United States was adop- 
ted, with ample provisions for its amendment. It was 
a model Constitution, embracing every essential as an 
organic law, to the safety and welfare of the nation, 
and forbidding to the several States no right or power 
essential to the efficient control of domestic and local 
affairs, but reserving to them all powers not delegated. 

The establishment of a government so wise and be- 
neficent, was the object for which good men periled 
their lives ; and the maintenance of this legacy and the 
diffusion of its blessings amongst the people, has been 
the wish of every true lover of his country since the 
struggle of ’76 to the present hour. 

For a period of seventy years or more, the peace 
was maintained, and the people multiplied and pros- 
pered. The protection of good government, extending 
from the Atlantic to the Pacific, and from the lakes of 
Canada to the Gulf, gave an impetus to industry and 
improvement which has been everywhere visible over 
this broad land. Magnificent cities sprang into exis- 
tence as if by the hand of magic, and fruitful fields 
furnished in profusion all that was essential to the 
wants of man. 

Protected in the enjoyment of the products of our 
labor, we had a heart to work, and an incentive to 
persevere in laudable pursuits of industry and im- 
provement ; and the consequence was, we prospered 
as no people on earth ever prospered. The means of 
subsistence were comfortably within the reach of all, 
and even the negro slave knew not what it was to want 
the necessaries of life. 

The chief object of the founders of our government 
was to secure and promote the largest amount of hu- 
man happiness, at the least possible expense, consist- 
ent with the object in view. They were not unmindful 


37 


THE CENTENNIAL. 


of the natural inequalities of man, whilst the sepa- 
rate and distinct races — the black and the white — and 
their relations as servant and master, occupied a large 
share of their deliberations. A knowledge of the nat- 
ural inequalities of man had much to do in regulating 
the abridgment of the elective franchise. 

The experiment of a government founded upon the 
authority of males of adult age, guaranteeing to them 
political equality, and to all, male and female, black 
and white, equal protection to life and its essential 
en joyments, was fairly inaugurated. All minors were 
subject to parental authority or guardianship, and 
slaves or servants were subject to masters — all under 
the restraining influence of just laws for protection 
against maltreatment or cruelty. 

The unexampled prosperity and happiness of the 
American people for near three quarters of a century, 
was evidence of the wisdom and justice which obtained 
in establishing for us constitutional liberty. But, un- 
fortunately for the cause of good government, we 
had at the beginning, in our midst, and infused 
throughout the living masses which peopled the new 
world, a political malady, which lias, I fear, suc- 
ceeded in sapping the foundation of our liberties — a 
malady which no wisdom has been able to subdue, 
and for which no foresight has yet found a remedy. 

Washington’s farewell address gave us warning, 
but we heeded it not. 

Washington warned us that men love office and 
power better than they love their country. 

This was the fatal disease ; inordinate ambition and 
thirst for place and power, manifesting itself through 
an interminable scramble ; men out of power seeking 
to possess, and in power seeking to hold. 

And, unfortunately for the human family, this mal- 
ady is as ancient as government itself, existing at all 


38 


THE CENTENNIAL. 


times, and in all ages, engendering the turmoil and 
conflicts which have desolated the earth. 

The history of our government’s brief existence, be- 
ginning with the administration of Washington, de- 
velopes the intensity of our partisan scrambles and 
their final culmination in disaster. 

The elevation of Washington to the Presidency was 
the signal for ambitious men to commence an organ- 
ized opposition to his administration, and he was not 
permitted to serve out his first term without attempts 
to impeach him for high crimes and misdemeanors. 

Democratic societies were then formed to overawe 
the regularly constituted authorities, and their mad- 
ness culminated in resistance to the whisky tax in 
Pennsylvania during the second Presidential term, and 
to suppress which Washington ordered out fifteen 
thousand men. 

The elder Adams was much annoyed by the unne- 
cessary and unjustifiable attacks upon his administra- 
tion. The alien and sedition laws, and the eight per 
cent loan were manipulated by the malcontents into 
capital sufficiently formidable to oust him from power 
at the expiration of his one term. Jefferson, fill- 
ing the presidential chair, the Federalists, then ousted 
from place, becoming in their turn factious and turbu- 
lent, gave him but little rest. But his was a bed of 
roses, compared with the eight years of Madison’s 
presidency. It was during his administration the 
New England Puritans, recently so horror-stricken at 
the South for seceding, held a convention at Hartford, 
for the purpose of dissolving the Union. They were 
preparing to secede, and were furnishing aid to the 
British army during the war of 1812. And had it not 
been for the success of our little navy, and the defeat 
of Packenham at New Orleans, five of the New Eng- 
land States would have committed rebellion full and 


THE CENTENNIAL. 


39 


complete. It was during this period of political in- 
sanity, Madison was threatened with a halter, and with 
banishment to the Isle of Elba. 

The intolerable violence and factious insubordination 
which disturbed his administration, failing to disrupt 
the government, and the people prospering under a 
faithful obedience to the requirements of the Constitu- 
tion, the turbulent politicians shrank back for awhile 
from public gaze, allowing President Monroe an ad- 
ministration of peace ; which was not disturbed until 
the contest for the Presidency between the younger 
Adams and Andrew Jackson awakened anew the 
scramble for place and power. 

John Quincy Adams was elected, and served four 
years, during which time the dominant malcontents, 
with all their senseless cry of “ bargain and intrigue,” 
failed to disturb the peaceful and harmonious working 
of the government under the Constitution ; and the 
people, protected in their various pursuits during his 
administration, were still prosperous and contented. 

Jackson succeeded and served two terms. He also 
had a trying and stormy time. 

The Whigs, then the outs, seemed sure the country 
would be ruined by his administration ; and he was 
spoken of as a tyrant at the helm of affairs, from 
whose administration we might expect inextricable 
and irretrievable ruin. Tie, too, was threatened with 
violence and banishment by leaders of the intermina- 
ble scramble, as the only means of saving the country. 
With the Constitution for his guide, like those who had 
preceded him, he served eight years, and the country 
was not ruined. The people were prosperous in spite 
of the turbulence of politicians. 

Martin Van Buren succeeded Jackson — served four 
years — no ruin yet, notwithstanding the immense cry 
of office scramblers in 1840 to the contrary. 


40 


T1IE CENTENNIAL. 


Harrison was elected, but dying soon thereafter, 
John Tyler (cursed and denounced as a traitor) served 
out the remainder of the term — the country still pros- 
pering. 

The scramble for office, though, was now more in- 
tense than ever ; the number of aspirants by this time 
having been greatly augmented by reason of the edu- 
cated and professional classes becoming politicians. 

But to the honor of all our Presidents, from Wash- 
ington's first term even down to 1860, be it said, that 
no one of them — neither Federalist, National Repub- 
lican, Whig nor Democrat — ever intentionally at- 
tempted. a violation of the Constitution. Tyler drop- 
ped the partisan, and each succeeding President, like 
the preceding, obeyed the Constitution, and, to the ex- 
tent of their power, faithfully executed the laws. 

Even Abraham Lincoln, of higher law proclivities, 
was but little at fault in his administration, and was 
true to the Constitution until the furor and madness 
of revolution compelled him to resort to expedients 
and measures which he himself considered of doubtful 
con stitutionality. 

It was reserved for his administration to feel the cul- 
mination of partisan scramble for place and power ; 
for by this time the number of aspirants was legion ! 
The whole surface of the earth was covered with them, 
frothing, foaming, spouting, treating, drinking — from 
Mars Hill to Cape Sable, all along the Atlantic coast, 
extending far into the interior ; and from the Russian 
possessions along the Pacific, all the way down to the 
. southern boundary of California. 

The conflicting interests and heated passions of over 
thirty millions of people, had hatched an immense 
brood of place hunters and stump orators, who, like 
the plagues of Egypt, covered the goodly land, sap- 
ping and undermining the virtue and integrity of the 


TIIE CENTENNIAL. 


41 


masses, and often gulling, deceiving, or cheating them 
into the support of mere partisan dogmas of no prac- 
tical importance, except as vehicles upon which to ride 
into power. 

Instead of teaching the people to understand and to 
love the government under which they had prospered, 
and to respect and obey its laws, the malcontents of 
the North proclaimed a “higher-law,” and taught the 
people there to hate the Union, under the Constitution ; 
whilst in the more Southern latitudes, another, but a 
different class, gcaded on by liigher-law threatenings, 
personal liberty bills, and John Brown raids, were, not 
without apparant cause, in favor of separation; and 
they, too, engaged in teaching the masses to hate the 
Union. 

But so long as the people adhered to the Union as 
it was, and disregarded the teachings of heated brains, 
or crazy fanatics, or noisy declaimers, everything went 
well with them. Their commerce was unrestricted, 
their travel was undisturbed, and their persons had 
the protection of republican forms of government 
guaranteed, not only by the Constitution of the United 
States, but by the reserved right of the people of every 
State, to legislate for themselves in all things, not in 
conflict with the delegated powers. 

Thus happily situated, they had erected comfortable 
dwellings; their farms were in good condition; their 
cattle were grazing on rich pastures ; their children 
cared for, and as happy as the birds of spring, which 
awaken us with their morning melodies ; whilst our 
young people, influenced by the surroundings of peace 
and plenty, had every encouragement to contract the 
marriage relations, and to set up for themselves, with a 
reasonable assurance of a continuation of the blessings 
of good government. 

But 0 ! what a change, infinitely for the worse ! A 


42 


TIIE CENTENNIAL. 


broad belt of desolation, a short time since, presented 
to view, fields laid waste, dwellings destroyed, cities 
in ashes, wealth exhausted, and hearth-stones deso- 
late ! 

A war had swept over us ! Our young men and 
middle aged had been called away, and their bones 
were bleaching on a thousand battle-fields ! Fathers 
and sons, kindred and friends — citizens of a common 
country — had met in conflict, and sunk down bleeding 
and perishing together ! Four years of fratricidal war 
had swept over us, and when its violence had ceased, 
the poor war-worn survivors of the conflict returned 
to find their estates wasted, their dwellings in ruins, 
and their children beggars ! 

Military rule had usurped dominion over us, more 
fatal than pestilence, more terrible than volcanic fires, 
and more blighting than the scorching blasts of a 
deadly sirocco. 

The great public mind can be pleasantly and safely 
excited by laudable emulation in our various occupa- 
tions and pursuits ; but when storms of party malevo- 
lence, of pride, avarice and ambition, break upon it, 
then anarchy and violence — the laying waste of fruit- 
ful fields, the sacking and burning of cities, the wanton 
destruction of human life and liberty ensue — the venal 
and corrupt themselves falling a prey to their own 
rapacity. Then, like the wreck of stranded vessels 
seen upon the beach when storms subside, the charred 
remains of a ruined people and country, in the soli- 
tude of desolation, presents a sad and mournful lesson 
to the survivors ! 

LOVE OF COUNTRY. 

It has been a pleasure for us (old men) to study the 
geography of our country that we might comprehend 
its extent, the grandeur of its mountains, the fertility 
of its valleys, the majesty of its rivers, the extent of 


THE CENTENNIAL. 


43 


its forests, its ocean and lake bound coasts, its north- 
ern climes, and its sunny plains. 

We have studied this magnificent country, and com- 
prehended its vast extent, stretching from the Atlantic, 
across the Rocky Mountains, four thousand miles to 
the Pacific ; thence south, nearly two thousand miles, 
with the meanderings of the coast to the southern 
extremity of California ; thence eastward, embracing 
Texas and the Gulf and Atlantic States, thousands of 
miles to the beginning ; presenting a magnificent inte- 
rior, enlivened with rivulets and cascades, and beauti- 
fied by broad and majestic rivers, and their innumer- 
able tributary streams. These, and a thousand other 
charms, made us feel that this was indeed an asylum 
for the oppressed ; that it was a home fit for freemen, 
where the iron rule of despotism could never stifle the 
voice of liberty, nor rivet the chains of oppression. 

In traveling over this great country of ours, we ' 
found good people everywhere, and, that all sections 
had their bad ones ; and we were proud to think we 
had a grand system of government, State and National, 
to shield the good from oppression, by restraining 
the bad. We were glad to feel that, as a people, we 
had good Constitutions and good laws, and that we 
could gaze upon a flag whose ample folds protected 
us, not only at home, but in foreign lands, and on 
ocean’s wide expanse. 

We claimed but one country, and that extended 
from ocean to ocean, and from the beautiful lakes of 
the North even down to the Gulf. This vast country 
was ours. We loved its mountains ; we loved its 
fertile plains ; we loved its forests wild ; its rivers, too, 
we loved, and every stream that flows in murmurs 
to the sea ; and, though of vast extent, we loved it 
all : it was our country : it was our home. 

It is yet our country, sad as its memories are ; and, 


44 


THE CENTENNIAL. 


though dotted all over with mementoes of civil strife, 
we cling to it as the world’s last hope for civil liberty, 
and feel that lessons of wisdom may yet direct our 
steps to a higher appreciation cf the essentials to 
good government. We feel that, with a country so 
vast, a soil so rich, and a climate for all, each could 
have a place and employment suited to his reasonable 
wants ; and that all mav yet lift their eyes from amidst 
scramble and turmoil to behold the dawn of a brighter 

day. 

•/ 

We feel that so magnificent a country, inhabited as 
it is by men of science and purity, by men of discern- 
ment and integrity, will not be let go to waste and 
ruin through the instrumentality of political intrigue, 
or the blighting evils of unwise legislation ; and that 
what is wrong in practice will be abandoned ; that 
legislation injurious will be repealed, and Constitu- 
tions be perfected, to the end that the strong shall not 
oppress the weak, nor the intelligent domineer over 
the ignorant ; and that public officials and legislators 
may find it not only pleasant but imperative to be 
truthf ul and just. But to secure the realization of 
these hopes, and the hopes which inspired the founders 
of our government, we must get our consent to learn 
wisdom from the past, and be guided by it in future. 

The lessons of experience are clear and unmistaka- 
ble. A preponderance of virtue and intelligence at 
the close of the war in ’76, matured and put in opera- 
tion a republican form of government — State and Na- 
tional — which worked well for a time, and had the 
confidence and love of the people. But, failing to 
satisfy the cravings of political aspirants, or to gratify 
the wants of the rapidly increasing hordes of place- 
hunters, it was subject to the throes of party dissen- 
tions, and factious insubordination, which, after every 
election of prominence, became more and more inten- 


THE CENTENNIAL. 


45 


sified, through disappointment and hope deferred, 
until partisan hate triumphed over love of country, 
and th epeaceful relations of the people of the several 
States, yielding to the frenzy of fanaticism and revo- 
lution, was broken up and destroyed. 

The situation is now anything but satisfactory to in- 
telligent statesmen. 

Prior to 1860, the Constitution and laws of the 
United States were not inimical to the South. Under 
the United States laws, fugitives were returned, and 
John Brown raids discouraged. The laws of Virginia 
proved ample to put down the John Brown insurrec- 
tion, and hence, we seem to have had no justifiable 
pretext for separation, except as a supposed precau- 
tionary measure against the higher-law threatenings of 
leading men North. 

Now we have sources of irritation growing out of 
the consequences or results of the war, which will re- 
quire all the intelligence and moderation, not only of 
leading men, but of all the people, to prevent again 
culminating in bloodshed, and the probable overthrow 
and total loss of civil liberty. 

The white people of 1860, with all their advantages 
of education, did not exercise sufficient intelligence 
and moderation to avoid a disastrous conflict of arms. 

The abolition mania had, like a contagious disease, 
spread over the North, furnishing fuel to secession 
proclivities, which spread over the South, until the 
clash of steel and the smoke of battle told the sad tale 
of civil war. 

Now, with these lessons before us, what can we ex- 
pect as the result, since the number of uneducated and 
unthinking voters has been largely increased % 

If the white people, with education, were unable to 
shield themselves from strife and war, how can we ex- 
pect enduring peace when the germs of strife are in- 
tensified by inviting the negro into the demoralization 


46 


THE CENTENNIAL. 


of party scrambles ? And liow can we secure the ser- 
vices of honest, intelligent and practical men to make 
and execute our laws, or to receive and disburse our 
revenues, when the venal and corrupt can bribe, se- 
duce or deceive ignorant or dishonest voters into their 
support ? 

There is nothing clearer than when ignorance holds 
the balance of voting strength, the chances for corrupt 
men to get into power are largely multiplied. 

“When the wicked rule the nation mournetli ; 

When the ignorant vote, “ thieves break through and steal.” 

I have attempted to give a truthful, though brief 
summary of obstacles, which observant and reasoning 
minds, I think, will line! in the way, in their endeavors 
to secure good government and enduring peace. 

But, to be thus admonished is the only way to in- 
duce that earnestness of consideration, so essential to 
a timely reversal of the evil tide. 

TO MEN OF COLOR. 

It is a matter even for the serious consideration of 
the intelligent and educated men of color themselves, 
now that they have been enfranchised, whether or not 
they will look on without rebuke, and see their own 
race and color used as mere voting machines by politi- 
cal vampires, who are sucking the life-blood of the 
million, or, by a timely warning, so direct their voting 
strength as to secure the service of honest and capable 
men to till our public places. This is now their im- 
perative duty, as it is surely patent to them that 
extremists, unchecked by enlightened suffrage, will 
drive the country to perdition. 

Men of the Democratic party, now out of power, 
should also take warning. Experience and observa- 
tion would sa}^ to them, make haste slowly ; be sober 
in thought, and prudent in expression ; and should 


THE CENTENNIAL. 


47 


high positions to serve your country present them- 
selves for your acceptance, remember not to return 
“ evil for evil / 5 but let the duties you owe your con- 
stituents and your country be performed with wisdom, 

JUSTICE, AND MODERATION. 

When corruption sits in high places, the masses, by 
contact, become tainted. The venality of the Judge 
gives license to perjury, plunder and theft; while 
successful turpitude and malfeasance in office, points 
with an unerring finger to the debasement of the 
masses and the insecurity of life, liberty and property. 

When a people become too ignorant or too corrupt 
to appreciate mutual protection and security under 
equal and just laws, then the power wielded by those 
in position to protect themselves, soon dominates over 
the masses, and, of necessity, in the law of forces, 
commands obedience and submission. 

It is tlms that despotism finds foot-hold. And so 
long as the masses remain incapable of governing 
themselves, they will be governed as subjects or serfs 
by the more intelligent few. 


To the people, whose ancestors founded the govern- 
ment as it was, I imagine I hear addressed the whisp- 
erings of 

A VOICE FROM THE TOMBS, 

saying : Ye have not exercised sufficent intelligence 
to avoid the greatest of calamities ; ye have suffered 
your reason and judgment to lie dormant, whilst your 
passions and prejudices have been kept alive by the 
ire and intolerance of bigots, the pseudo philanthropy 
and cant of hypocrites, the incessant appeals of fanat- 
ics, in support of impractical schemes, and the yet 
more powerful appeals of the gifted and intelligent 
demagogue, who, through sophistry and declamation, 
turns all isms and all dogmas to his own account, 


48 


TIIE CENTENNIAL 


that he may profit withall. Ye have listened in sim- 
plicity of heart to harangues addressed to your pas- 
sions, whose every utterance was a cheat, and every 
expression of love and regard for your welfare a sham ; 
and thus, tamely surrendering your own right of judg- 
ment, ye have been led into a labyrinth of errors and 
antagonism, until your inheritance of good govern- 
ment has nearly passed out of view. Ye have learned 
from sad experience that no government, however free, 
or wisely framed, can long endure without purity and 
wisdom at the helm, supported and kept in place by 
an honest, patriotic and intelligent people. 


THE IMPERIALIST. 


I have before me, at this writing, a copy of the Im- 
perialist, published in New York, soon after President 
Grant was inaugurated, the first term. There were 
twenty numbers in all issued, bearing at the head, 
a crown in the middle. On the left of which, the 
words: “ tiie empire is peace”! On the right in 

the language of Gen. Grant : u Let us have peace.” 
Gen. Grant was, no doubt, looked to as the man in 
position, and willing, to accept the crown. 

It was edited with the most consummate ability ; 
but President Grant, to his credit, failing to respond, 
the Imperialist was ordered by the T. C. I. O. — (a se- 
cret order of imperial bloods) to be discontinued until 
other opportunities, more favorable to success, were 
presented. 


THE CENTENNIAL. 


49 


IMPERIALISM. 

I saw in a vision, men passing along, 

And people bewildered, upholding a wrong. 

The miters and maces were seen in the van, 

With ensigns of power, profusely on hand ; 

And chieftains were present, of fame and renown — 
Bloods, royal and noble, awaiting a crown. 

With longing for power, and thirst for command, 

A would-be great monarch soon mounted a stand, 

With moustache, imperial, and dress alamode — 

With garters and tinsel, and gold scabbard sword — 

He mounted a stand, and in tones clear and loud, 
Addressed a bedazzled and king-stricken crowd : 

“My people : Believe me — my motives are pure — 
Amur peace and your welfare are never secure 
When you are entrusted with ballot and voice ; 

Better leave it to us — we can make the best choice. 

We, having intelligence — character, too, 

Are much better fitted to govern than you ; 

Don’t you see that free governments never endure ? 

That nought is so safe as a monarchy pure ? 

“ See England — dear mother — how bright is her page ! 
How stable her power ! enduring as age !- 
Then cast off free suffrage, the bane of the hour — 

Invest us, your chieftains, with untrammeled power ; 
With hope for the future — forgetting the past, 

We’ll shield you and save you from war’s deadly blast.” 

A shout from the people arose on the air : 

[Some wanting a king who could shield them from war ; 
WTiose magical power could bid wars to cease, 

And give them, like England, a kingdom of peace. 

On seeing the people thus charmed with the scheme, 

For yielding ambition its full measured dream ; 

On seeing that kingcraft v r as carrying the day, 

A stranger announced he had something to say. 

“ My friends,” exclaimed he. “ Better look wTiat you do, 
I know something more about kingdoms than you ; 

This yearning for monarchy tokens no good, 

For monarchies ever are crimsoned with blood. 

“ A T our liberty, precious, should never be sold — 

Afield not to the glitter of tinsel or gold. 

A^our freedom a failure ! These words mav be true. 

* * 

Better kindle the fires of freedom anew. 


50 


THE CENTENNIAL. 


Yield not to a monarch your suffrages free ! 

Trust not to allurements, though bright they may be ! 

With words of endearment, and infinite pains, 

A tyrant will tempt you to forge your own chains. 

When caught in his meshes, you’ll tremble and cower ; 

He'll tax you and rob you, when once in his power. 

Your suffrage a failure ! Let not this be true ! 

Your would-be bloods royal are failures — not you. 

“Your purpose is peaceful — your motives are right, 

’Tis Imperial contests involve you in fight. 

You trust to their guidance, and yield to their sway, 

But, selfish and venal, they’ll lead you astray. 

Then softly they’ll tell you that liberty ’s wrong ; 

Better give up your safety to monarchy strong ; 

Republican governments never endure ; 

The strongest and safest are monarchies pure. 

Thus softly beguiling you, ere you’re aware, 

You’ll find yourself tangled in monarchy’s snare. 

“ Yield not to the tempter, who seeks to betray ! 

Better cling to your freedom and power to sway 
Your public officials, each day and each hour , 

That you may, if need be, remove them from power. 

“If you have, by voting, put bad men in place, 

By suffrage untrammeled your steps can retrace ; 

If laws be oppressive, unequal, unjust, 

Your votes can repeal them through men you can trust. 

Thus ever combatting encroachments of wrong, 

Protecting the weak and restraining the strong. 

“Then why, let me ask you, this yearning for kings ? 

Y r ou surely know not of the trouble it brings. 

Your daughters in service, and sons all impressed ; 

Your chieftains at war, and your voices suppressed. 

The tenth they will take of your grain and your pork — 
Take horses and servants and put them to work. 

Till sore with the trial of despotic rule, 

You’ll cry : What poor fools we have been, O, what fools ! ” 
But here, as this speech was drawn near to a close, 

Imperial voices in murmurs arose : 

“ The people in voting, may sometimes vote right, 

But voting unwisely involves them in fight ; 

Old England, the model — such government strong — 

Would shield them from wars of oppression and wrong.” 

The stranger resuming, he tersely replied : 

“These lurings are mischief ; then cast them aside. 


THE CENTENNIAL. 


51 


Old England a model! No wars, nor alarms ! 

No civil commotions, nor clashing of arms ! 

Let none thus deceive you with statements untrue ; 

Her record is bloody, and horrid to view. 

Since William of Norm and v, blood can he traced : 

Eight civil commotions laid England’s fields waste ; 

And nineteen rebellions of hatred and rage 
Deep crimsoned her record and blotted her page. 

Thus warned, let me urge you, beware of the bloods , 

More dangerous, by far, than volcanoes or floods ; 

As subjects, they’ll trample you under their feet, 

And lift the dark veil from the horrible cheat.” 

Thus closing, he mingled again with the crowd, 

Whilst cheers from the people were heard long and loud ; 

And soon were the ensigns Imperial torn down — 

All scattered in fragments and trailed on the ground. 

Defeated, retiring, and hiding from view, 

Tli’ Imperialists vanished, their schemes to renew ; 

For trapping the people when less on their guard, 

Coercing their sanction by might of the sword. 

MODAL : 

The masses of the people, everywhere, are mainly 
well disposed and confiding ; and hence, the wrongs 
that come upon them are chargeable to those who lead 
them astray. The people are as easily lead right as 
wrong. The men who mislead are ever of the same 
class, out of which ldivjs and despots are made. 


[From the Atlanta Herald.] 

June 2, 1875. 

A committee of citizens, headed by Mr. Garrett, 
Col. Lowry and Mr. J. N. Dunn, addressed Col. J. A. 
Stewart a note on yesterday, requesting him to pre- 
pare, and read a Centennial poem on the next 4th of 
July. Col. Stewart replies as follows : 


52 


THE CENTENNIAL. 


Atlanta, Ga., May 31, 1875. 

Messrs. W. J. Garrett , Wm. M. Lowry , J. H. Dunn y 
Henry W. Grady , others : 

Gentlemen: Your note honoring me with a call 
for a Centennial Poem for the ensuing Fourth of July, 
has been received. I look to the Centennial of 1876, 
as a grand opportunity for the restoration of good 
will between the people of our common country ; and 
for the inauguration of the Nation’s new birth, on the 
basis of the Constitution ; and hence am willing to 
contribute to the extent of my ability to the good 
work. I will take pleasure in preparing a poem, as 
requested, for the ensuing 4th. 

Yours, very respectfully, 

J. A. Stewart. 


THE CENTENNIAL POEM, 


AS READ BY ITS AUTHOR 


IN ATLANTA, JULY 4t II, 1875. 


PRELUDE. 

♦ 

The poetry and music of this world have ever been 
in unison. No discord finds entrance to disturb their 
harmony. They were born of the same mother, and 
lived together through many a happy day. Nor have 
they been wanting in relief to the sadness of intervening 
hours. 

O ! may Poetry and Music infuse into the public 
mind and heart emotions of conciliation and love of 
country ; and may they ever dwell in the human 
breast to shield against the evil passions of man ! 


The age now upon us, like ages of old, 

Brings the sad dirge of liberty’s faint sounding knell — 
Has the same blight and ruin of wars to unfold, 

w 7 

And the same evil story of mankind to tell. 


TIIE CENTENNIAL. 



Yet, power for good, lias at times had the sway, 

And tyranny forced to submit to its might ; 

A heroic struggle has oft won the day, 

And founded great forums of justice and right. 

And such was the contest, when patriots unfurled 
The banner of justice, and waved it on high, 

Proclaiming in Seventy-Six to the world, 

This land should be free, or for freedom they’d die. 

The times were propitious. Good men in the lead, 
Conducted the struggle with hearts firm and pure ; 

Supported by patriots, the time of great need 
Was passed through in triumph, and victory made sure. 

A Government then was ordained — setting forth 
The right of the people to make their own laws ; 

And brief years of triumph of freedom on earth 
Gave hopes of success in the glorious cause. 

The kings of the East looked out on the West, 

Across the Atlantic where heroes had bled ; 

A continent wide, and a people so blest, 

Affected their hearts with emotions of dread. 

A Government just, and with leaders so pure, 

To guide and direct when the nation was young, 

Attracted the gaze of the tyrants afar, 

As songs met their ears of the triumphs we sung. 

Yes, a nation of States ! 0, the grandest on earth ! 

E Pluribus JJnum — united, yet free, 

Sprang forth in full vigor — uncradled at birth — 

“ Divided as billows, yet one as the sea.” 

The down-trodden millions, who felt the sad blight 
Of tyranny’s rule, and its burdens and pains, 

Was charmed at the view of a prospect so bright, 

To flee from oppression, its rivets and chains. 

A voice speaking out from our broad eastern shore, 
Proclaimed the glad tidings of comfort and cheer ; 

A land for the homeless had opened the door, 

Extending a welcome to homes with us here. 

The exile and friendless here found an abode 
In the bright sunny plains, or the shades of the dell, 

Or the western slopes, where the evening sun glowed ; 

Or down in the gorges, where cataracts fell — 


54 


THE CENTENNIAL. 


Found homes on the margin of ocean or stream, 

And planted green meadows where bright waters are ; 
They felt the enchantment of life’s purest dream 
Enhanced by exemption from turmoil and war. 

But evil persisting — a people so great, 

With years of fruition, and prospects so bright, 

Gave way to the demon of partisan hate, 

And reaped from the discord affliction and blight. 

Ye patriots and heroes ! awake ye no more ; 

Or if in the realms of a region more bright, 

Return not your gaze, for the cause, as of yore, 

Has been veiled in the arrogant forays of might. 

List not to our sorrows, nor hear their refrain ; 

Look not from above on this war-stricken land ; 

Nor gaze on the sod o’er the dust of the slain, 

Who fell by the fratricide hand agaiust hand. 


THE HLUE AND THE GRAY. 

Our mounds and our ditches sad memories unfold, 
Aud furnish the poet a subject or theme ; 

O ! let us tread softly the damp silent mold ; 

Awake not the soldier ! Disturb not his dream ! 

His place is now vacant, his life is all told — 

It is now the sad burden of poetic theme ; 

Then let ns tread lightly the damp silent mould ; 
Awake not his slumbers ! Disturb not his dream ! 

The Blue and the Gray now sleep under the mould ; 

Each fought for a cause he believed to be just ; 
Each fell as a soldier, courageous and bold ; 

Awake not their slumber ! Disturb not their dust ! 


THE UNION AS IT WAS. 

Let us view the grand union of States as it was ; 

Let us think of the times of rejoicing and peace ; 

Of those who gave birth to the glorious cause, 

With hopes that its blessings should never more cease. 

Let us think of the commerce and freedom of States, 
Secured by the Union when times were all good ; 

Ere discord and war, the decree of the fates, 

Had crimsoned the soil with divisions of blood — 


THE CENTENNIAL. 


Ere fearful commotion and malice and spite, 

Engendered the forays of partisan hate ; 

And factions ambitious, and might against right, 
Involved us in conflicts of State against State. 

Let us enter no more into bloodshed and strife ; 

Let us light up the noon-beams of hope’s brightest ray 

Let us seek to restore to our country new life, 

Rejoicing again in its proud natal day. 

TIIE CENTENNIAL GROUND. 

The Delaware River receives from the east, 

On its bright, rippling surface, the morning’s first ray ; 

Whilst the twilight of evening and glow of the west, 

The Schuylkill reflects at the parting of day. 

On the plain intervening, a city is thronged — 

The “ City of Love” — Philadelphia — the same 

Which re-echoed the peals, and the cheerings prolonged, 
When hearts were in unison, flame kindling flame. 

When patriots had planted the Liberty Tree, 

And clearly responded the sound of the bell, 

The shouts then arose from the land of the free, 

And the echoes returned like an anthem’s grand swell. 

THE CENTENNIAL CALL. 

And now the same bell, from the weather-stained dome, 
Is sounding aloud the Centennial call, 

On statesmen now living, and spirits of yore, 

To assemble again in the old natal hall. 

I sec, as a dream , the great day is at hand ; 

And I see, in the distance, the gathering throng ; 

I see coming up from this broad, sunny land, 

Resolves for the right, and forgiveness for wrong. 

I hear in the voices, returning to life, 

Resolves as of yore, when for justice they plead, 

And I see in the heroes who fell in the strife 
A smile of approval for blood they had shed. 

I see in the liviug great pledges renewed — 

Constitutional law is again to have sway ; 

And I see in the movements for peace here pursued, 

A token that evil is passing away. 


56 THE CENTENNIAL. 


Great tears of regret for mistakes of tlic past, 

Here moisten the eye of the true and the brave ; 

And hands arc extended, with grip firm and fast, 

With hearts re-resolving their country to save. 

OLD LIBERTY HALL. 

The hall is yet standing — Old Liberty Hall ; 

And winds the old stairway up, up, strong and well, 

Where men bent with years, as a tear they let fall, 
Climb a' oft to place hands on the old natal bell. 

The chasm is closing, the day shadows forth, 

And I see in the distance the gathering throng, 

I see coming up from the North and the South, 
Rc.:olves for the right, and forgiveness for wrong. 

I see on the steeples and turrets above, 

Ten thousand bright banners in beauty unfurled ; 

Whilst upward — still upward in mansions of love, 

Are voices proclaiming peace ! peace ! to the world. 

With heart-throbs responsive, the sons of the North 
Rise out of the hates of the great erring past ; 

Whilst the land of the South pours her chivalry forth, 
To be in at the christening, the Nation’s new birth. 


THE STAR OF HOPE. 

I sec, as a dream , in the distance beyond, 

The bright star of hope with its mild-beaming ray, 

Again shining forth to illumine the ground, 

Where the patriots rejoiced on the great natal day. 

I see ! Oh, I see ! in the regions above, 

As the glow of the evening’s sun passes from view, 

The star-spangled heavens, with tokens of love, 

To light up forgiveness and pledges renew. 

I see on the hill-tops and mountains the glare 
Of the bonfires blazing as blazed they of yore ; 

And I hear in the echoes resounding afar, 

In graver responses, the cannon’s deep roar. 

From the bright, sunny South to the lakes of the North — 
From ocean to ocean — o’er mountain and dell, 

I hear the refrain of rejoicing pour forth, 

In response to the tones of the Old Natal Bell. 


THE CENTENNIAL. 


57 


The babes at the bosoms receive the caress, 

In the arms of their mothers, as hopes are renewed ; 

Whilst tremulous hands of the grandsires press, 

And the promise of blessings is freely bestowed. 

The sorrowful scenes of the more recent past 
Have saddened the heart with experience dear ; 

Yet blessings spring forth where our sorrows were cast, 
And moisten the eye with the patriot’s tear. 

THE CONSUMMATION. 

My heart beats with hope ; the great day has shone forth ; 
And I see in the distance the gathering throng ; 

I see, coming up from the North and the South, 

Resolves for the right and forgiveness for wrong. 

I see, on the steeples and turrets above, 

Ten thousand bright banners in beauty unfurled ; 

Whilst voices come laden with accents of love, 

And hand grasping hand — giving joy to the world. 

Ye spirits departed ! arise and come forth ! 

Or, if in the realms of a region of light, 

Return ye your gaze to the land of your birth, 

For your cause is yet living, effulgent and bright. 

The chasm has closed, and we hear the refrain 
From the hearts of the people — united and free — 

Proclaiming this country as one shall remain — 

“ Divided as billows, yet one as the sea.” 


TO THE READER. 


A few words of kindness and approval, coming 
from hearts that beat in unison with mine, would fall 
like gentle dews, to nourish and quicken the good 
seed which I am endeavoring to sow broadcast in this 
troubled land. 

Address 

J. A. Stewart, 

P. O Box 344, Atlanta, Ga. 


THE CENTENNIAL 

* 

AN 

OLIVE BRANCH. 


A WORK OF CONCILIATION 

4 


BY J. A. STEWART. 

* / 


The Blue and the Gray now sleep under the mold ; 

Each fought for a cause he believed to be just ; 
Each fell as a soldier, courageous and bold ; 

Awake not their slumber ! Disturb not their dust ! 


/ 


PRICE, 25 CTS. 


ATLANTA, GA : 

ATLANTA CONSTITUTION BOOK AND JOB PRINTERS. 

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